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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bound — tied together
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. scale — in music
  6. bat — the animal
  7. present — the time now
  8. rash — a series
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. present — there
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — a video
  22. bound — obliged
  23. present — a gift
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com